Environmental Assessment

Program Improvements

Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change

Ontario Association for Impact Assessment

October 17, 2017

Purpose and Overview

• Share actions that the ministry is taking to improve the Environmental Assessment (EA) program

Overview:

• Ontario’s EA program

• Program development process

• Emerging challenges

• What we’ve heard

• Program improvements

• Next steps

Ontario’s Environmental

Assessment Program• Goal: The purpose of the Environmental Assessment Act (EAA) is to provide for “the

protection, conservation and wise management in Ontario of the environment”.

– The EA program supports this goal by guiding proponents through the consideration

of alternatives and requiring the assessment of environmental effects before

decisions are made

• EA is a proponent-driven process – the proponent is responsible for identifying and

defining the undertaking, and completing the necessary studies and consultation

requirements.

• Multiple assessment processes and requirements for different types of projects.

– Regulations for electricity, waste, and transit projects;

– Class EAs (projects with predictable and manageable environmental effects) setting

out prescribed processes with standardized requirements (See Appendix A).

– Individual – broad government review of large scale, environmentally significant

projects (e.g. new landfills, highways, transmission lines).

Program Development Process –

Continuous Improvement

Program Development

Cycle

Stakeholder

Consultation/Feedback

What We Have Heard • The ministry receives feedback on the EA program from EA proponents, Class EA

holders, Auditor General of Ontario, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Indigenous communities and the public.

• Several recurring themes have been raised, including:

– Reducing time required for Part II Order Request (bump-up) process

– Ensuring that the ministry has the opportunity to provide input into environmental assessment processes

– Increasing public access to EA information

– Providing guidance on emerging issues and those of importance (i.e. climate change, Indigenous Consultation etc.)

– Considering cumulative effects in EA processes

– Alignment between federal and provincial EA processes and requirements

Part II Order Request – Process

Improvements

• The ministry is working to reduce the time required to review Part II Order requests

submitted to the ministry.

• The ministry noted that there were opportunities to improve the quality of Part II Order

Request submissions.

– Reducing back and forth between the proponent and the ministry to gather

information required to review the Part II Order request could help to reduce the

time associated with the process.

• The ministry is committed to the following actions:

– Developing guidance for the public on the information required in a Part II Order

request

Notification of Ministry

• The ministry is working to ensure that they are able to provide input at key stages of

environmental assessment processes.

• The ministry worked with Class EA holders to remind them of notification

requirements and to identify opportunities to improve the notification process.

• The ministry is considering the following action:

– Developing regional email addresses to streamline the notification process

• Upon implementation, the regional email addresses will need to be used in

addition to existing notification requirements to ensure that notifications

are being received by the ministry.

Notification of Ministry –

Regional Map

Public Posting of EA Information

• The ministry is working to increase public access to EA information.

• The ministry recognizes the value of public input into the EA process, and seeks to

develop options that can support greater access to EA information.

• The ministry committed to:

– Working with Class EA holders to identify opportunities to improve online access

to EA information.

– Where opportunity exists, amending or seeking commitment to amend Class EAs

to ensure EA project information is posted online.

– Identifying options for the ministry to post EA information online.

Providing Guidance for EA

Proponents• The ministry is working to ensure that proponents have access to guidance to support

them in completing high quality EA submissions, and address emerging challenges.

• Consultation with Class EA proponents and holders indicated that there was a need for additional guidance in three areas, including:

– Cumulative effects

– Indigenous consultation

– Climate change

• The ministry committed to:

– Reviewing the Codes of Practice to ensure that guidance reflects current practice, and helps to promote meaningful and effective consultation.

– Finalize\publish climate change guidance for EA proponents.

New Guidance for Consideration

of Climate Change in EA• MOECC has developed a new Guide for the consideration

of climate change in EA in Ontario

• The Guide was posted on the Environmental Registry in

September 2016 for a 45-day comment period.

• The Guide is intended for EA practitioners and can be

used in conjunction with the Codes of Practice and related

Guidance of the EA program.

11

Basis for New Guide

12

Developed in response to Climate

Ready Action Plan (2011), the

MOECC’s mandate renewal (2014),

and the Climate Change Action Plan

(2016).

MOECC to…ensure that climate

change is taken into account in the

government decision-making process.

This will include greenhouse gas

(GHG) impact analyses for significant

policies, legislation and regulations

and adaptation considerations for

public infrastructure investments.

Guide – What is it?

• Is directed at EA practitioners in the public

and private sectors.

• Prompts proponents, early in the project

planning phase, to consider climate change

and resilience.

• Describes the use of self-assessment tools

like the vulnerability assessment tool,

resilience case studies, and climate modeling

information in EA studies.

• Requests that proponents assess the effects

of an undertaking on climate change and the

effects of climate change on an undertaking.

• Includes information on:

o climate-related conditions applied to

recent EA decisions, and

o projects in the north and in remote

communities.

• Articulates the ministry’s expectations so

proponents can plan accordingly for climate

resilient outcomes.

• Requests that proponents include climate criteria into evaluation process and add a statement about how climate change was considered into study reports.

13

The draft guide Consideration of Climate Change in Environmental

Assessment in Ontario:

How is Climate Change to be

Considered?

14

Mitigation Adaptation

Guide asks proponents to consider

measures to mitigate climate change:

Guide asks proponents to consider

measures to adapt to climate change:

• Does your project generate greenhouse gas emissions

or affect the removal of carbon dioxide from the

atmosphere?

• To what extent have greenhouse gas emissions been

taken into account in project planning?

• Can the project be adjusted to reduce adverse

contributions to a changing climate?

• Are there commitments that could be made to assess

and improve climate performance during operation?

• How vulnerable might the project be to a changing

climate?

• To what extent have climate risks already been taken

into account in project planning?

• Can the project be adjusted to take better account of

the risks posed by a changing climate?

• Are Indigenous people or communities affected by any

of the project’s adaptation measures?

The Guide:

✓ uses a self-assessment approach familiar to proponents

✓ provides examples, resources, references to assist proponent with

consideration when preparing the EA

✓ uses methods similar to Canada (CEAA) and Nova Scotia

Nature of Consideration

• Qualitative or quantitative in nature

• Scaled to the project’s level of environmental effect.

15

Lower Risk Higher Risk

• Construction of sidewalks or bicycle paths

within existing rights-of-way

• Plowing and sanding of transit facilities

• Installing traffic signal priority for buses

• Termination of a (mining) licence of

occupation where payment of rental is in

arrears for 2 years or more.

• Creation of fuel wood access roads in parks

• Operation and maintenance of existing fish

culture stations

• Cleaning and shaping roadside ditches

EA

requirements

are scaled to

the level of

environmental

effect

• Major new water and wastewater treatment

facilities

• Establishing significant new transportation

corridors, e.g., roads and highways

• Major new rail station or intermodal transport

facility.

• Large extension high-voltage transmission line

• Mining proposal with tailings dams and other

effects on hydrology

Major Impact Consideration

16

Applied to major undertakings like large new waste/wastewater projects, mining proposals,

individual EAs where climate and hydrology impacts could be significant.

• Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Vulnerability Assessment of Key Flood Control

Infrastructure

• Engineers Canada (MOECC-funded) Climate Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Analysis of a

Municipal Water Treatment System in Southwestern Ontario

Inputs to Consideration

17

Mitigation

➢To reduce GHG emissions

➢Slow climate change

Adaptation

➢To enhance climate readiness

➢Prevent/address negative effects to

the environment

Energy efficiency measures

Fuels and building materials

Transportation demand measures

Carbon sequestration activities

Green Energy

Municipal / Regional Climate plans

Risk Assessments

Contingency/Emergency Plans

Facility / HR Policies

Backups, redundancies

Low-Med Risk Generic Project

18

Potential Project Features

• Recycled steel construction

• Certified sustainable forest products

• Recycled fibre flooring

• Storm water collection system for

landscape watering needs

• Energy efficient lighting

• Stone/gravel entrance allows infiltration

and surge mitigation

• Possibly onsite solar or compost, shade

trees

• Low flow water devices

• Bicycle rack

• Emergency / backup communications

Consideration could be thought of as….

• What energy/resource conservation features exist in your project or

could be added?

• What, if any, component of your project could be compromised by

severe weather and could this affect a public good?

• What measures does your organization have in place to deal with

upsets, extreme events or shutdowns?

• Proponent could make commitments on seeking low carbon and

resilience options for implementation:

Climate Tools of the Trade

19

www.pievc.ca

www.mto.gov.on.ca/

www.ontarioccdp.ca/

Guide’s Case Studies

• Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Vulnerability Assessment of Key Flood

Control Infrastructure

• Ministry of Transportation Web-based Tool for Generating IDF Curves for use in

Road, Highway, Urban Drainage Design

• Ministry of Transportation Highway 407 East Extension – Effect of the Environment

on the Project

• Engineers Canada (MOECC-funded) Climate Risk Assessment and Vulnerability

Analysis of a Municipal Water Treatment System in Southwestern Ontario

• Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Considering Climate Effects in Natural

Resource Project Planning

20

New Climate Tools

• MOECC is establishing a new climate change adaptation organization to serve

as a leading edge source of climate information and services.

• Practitioners, once the organization is fully operational in 2018, will be able to

seek assistance in applying the new climate change guidance when considering

climate impacts in environmental assessments.

• MOECC will be consulting on the new organization, both through the

Environmental Registry, as well as webinars and surveys. Please see

https://www.ontario.ca/page/climate-change for further detail.

Next Steps

• The ministry will continue to move forward with actions that will improve the EA

program and help the ministry to provide for “the protection, conservation and wise

management in Ontario of the environment”.

• The ministry will continue to identify new and emerging challenges to ensure that the

EA program can address these issues and reduce environmental risk in Ontario.

• As the federal review of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012

proceeds, the ministry will continue to participate in the consultation process with the

federal government to provide input into the review of CEAA 2012.

Questions

Thank you!

Caroline Rodgers

Caroline.rodgers@ontario.ca

Greg Jenish

Greg.jenish@ontario.ca